TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

Kinky Friedman is making his triumphant return to Bakersfield. I say triumphant because that's just how Kinky rolls. He does everything triumphantly. And we all have a chance to see Texas' favorite Jewish cowboy do his thing at The Prime Cut on Tuesday.

Take it from a longtime friend and fan of the Kinkster: You don't want to miss this show.

For those of you who may not be entirely familiar with his work, allow me to enlighten you: Kinky Friedman is a singer/ songwriter/humorist/ author/ statesman/philosopher/philanthropist of the highest order. He has written some of the greatest songs of his generation, from "Sold American" to "They Ain't Makin' Jews Like Jesus Anymore" to "Wild Man From Borneo."

Kinky's songs can, and will, make you laugh, cry, and think deeply, sometimes during the same song. He's toured with Bob Dylan, run the streets with Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings, and influenced a couple of generations of musicians and songwriters. He's written a ton of books, both fiction and non, and even penned the foreward to Willie Nelson's book, "Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die."

I think the best reason that I can give you to come to this show is that it would be ridiculous not to. Kinky doesn't tour that much these days, and rarer still are forays outside Texas, where his status is legendary: He's bigger than Batman, and on par with Davy Crockett.

Another great thing about Kinky's shows is that they're an escape from political correctness. I don't know if he'll be singing "Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in the Bed," but knowing that he wrote it should be inspiration enough. Either way, he'll be serving up an evening of first-class entertainment, with equal parts Will Rogers, Jackie Mason and Townes Van Zandt.

The opening act on Kinky's tour -- the official title is "Kinky Friedman's Bi-Polar Tour: A Fact Finding Mission" -- is Brian Molnar, a fine singer-songwriter in his own right.

Brian is a rarity in that he's from New Jersey, not exactly in the Americana music belt, but leave it to Kinky to ferret out talent off the beaten path. The tour will go on for 10 shows on the West Coast, then Kinky will call it a year. And it could be years before he's coaxed back out of his Kerrville, Texas stronghold to do it all again.

In addition to the show, you'll have an opportunity to do a little Christmas shopping too. Grab a box of cigars or a bottle of the tequila he makes for someone on your gift list, and they'll be eternally grateful.

I can't vouch for the quality of the cigars since I don't smoke, but my buddies who do tell me that they're superb. As for the tequila, well, I've done considerable research on that and, trust me, it's world-class.

Proceeds from the sale of these fine products go to the Utopia Rescue Ranch, one of the biggest and most successful animal rescue operations in the world.

One of the very best reasons to attend a Kinky Friedman show is the social aspect of the event. I've met Kinky Friedman fans across the country, and they're a swell bunch of people. You never know who'll show up to these things either.

Depending on schedules and geography, Kinky brings in a ton of cool people.

He did a show in L.A. a couple of years ago, and the crowd included everybody from Willie Nelson to Dwight Yoakam to Robert Duvall. They all know an icon when they see one, and so do I.

Scott Cox has a radio program that airs from 3 to 6 p.m. weekdays on KERN-AM, 1180.